B.Kish

aaks38

I replaced my water pump after 11 years with 70k, when I removed it, it was perfectly fine, no bearing play or leaks. Although there are a few that have had early failures, it is not a widespread problems on these cars. I only replaced mine as I need to change the coolant and plugs and added a third radiator. I would just keep an eye on it but its not a must.

door2416

My water pump went at 55k. I think the car is in the right miles for a pump replacement. use it as a bargaining point.

sandwedge

Water pump on my -09 C4S crapped at just over 40,000 miles. Trashed the serpentile belt in the process but other than that, no other damage to anything. Cost to fix it all was about $1,200 as I recall it. I'd imagine the cost should be similar on a 997.1.

Petza914

50k-70k miles is the window where you want to change the water pump if doing it preemptively so you can control where and when it's done. Some go longer, but then you'll not be able to determine where you or the car are or when you'll need to replace it. If you do DIY work on your cars then no biggie - buy a new pump WITH A PLASTIC IMPELLER only (never metal), a new low-temp thermostat and change it when you get the car home, along with the oil as a bonding day with your new ride. Get the spin on filter adapter from LN Engineering and the magnetic drain plug for your oil change. Use either Motul xcess 5W/40 or Driven DT40 oil.

AOS may last many more miles if the oil wasn't overfilled during the last 64k. Do the hot start check if you're going to see the car in person. Start it from cold, drive it a few miles, turn it off for a few minutes (3-5) then try to restart it. If it's very slow to crank, it has the bad cable issue and you'll be replacing that, which is when you'll also put in a new AOS as you go right by it during the disassembly procedure to get to all the cable connection points. If it cranks strong, during the restart, you're good. PPI needs to include a DME printout with overrevs.

cosm3os

C'mon. The most you can EXPECT is that maintenance per the book has been performed. After that, its a bonus. You are buying a 10 year old used car, not a new car. Expecting that every little system has been gone through and replaced is unreasonable, unless you want to pay top dollar.

For the record, 82k on mine with original WP and AOS.

ronvanr

I have 70.000 miles on my 05, asked my service manager at the Porsche dealership if I should replace my water pump, just to be safe. Short answer - no. I've read good arguments on both sides of this issue. Should not be a deal killer, but like someone else mentioned, maybe you could use it as a negotiating point to lower the price. Best of luck.

sandwedge

Not sure there's a good answer to this question. All depends on your tolerance for inconvenience and hassle. You could luck out and it fails in your garage overnight while you're sleeping. Big deal. Call for a flatbed and send it to the dealer or the indy, or whoever you're using. The more likely scenario is how mine failed. While on the road and it's obvious even to a fool that you're done driving no matter what your location or what important appointment you're on your way to. Actually one of very few cases that left me stranded roadside in any car over all the years.

B.Kish

mbatarga

I stopped off at my Indy's shop on Friday afternoon on April 14th last year to see what their schedule looked like for water pump/thermostat replacement, as I was at 57k miles (and 11 years of age) and wanted to address it as an overdue maintenance item (per owner manual.) Plans were made to drop the car off the next week.

That night the wife and I left the house about 4PM Friday to drive across town (metro ATL) to go to the Billy Joel concert. Plans were to eat dinner and then head to the venue nearby. Guess what car had a large puddle of coolant under it when we came out after dinner? After making it to the concert and having to wait until 4AM for a flatbed to be available, we got home about 6AM on Saturday. Our dinner and concert date ended up taking 14 Hours!

My point? Treat the water pump replacement as a maintenance item - don't wait for failure.

Petza914

Exactly the right moral to the story.

Might it last to 100k, yup. Might it fail at any time between 60k and 110k, yup.

Many of us have a similar water pump story - wife took the kids to school in the morning in her 997 - floor was perfectly dry and no coolant smell in the garage. Came back and parked it. Went to go to lunch about 3 hours later and big pink puddle under the car. I keep a water pump and LTT in the parts cabinet all the time since I have 2 997s.

gutenfreibier

Just replaced mine (2005 997 c2) this weekend at 105k. It was as far as I can tell, original. There were no blades missing, no leaks, or noises. The bearing may have had a *tiny amount of play.

I vote to replace as preventative maintenance, and sleep easy. It took me about a half of a Saturday.

cosm3os

Not directed to the OP, just directed to those who suggested it was a bargaining chip. Good luck with your purchase!

Lvt19672

FYI the new pump could leak and fail just as easily, search the threads.

doclouie